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Difficulty

Easy

Steps

3

Time Required

                          5 - 10 minutes

Sections

2

  • Access Door
  • 1 step
  • RAM
  • 2 steps

Flags

1

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  • BackiMac Intel 27" EMC 2309 & 2374

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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Access Door
  • Loosen the three Phillips screws securing the access door to the bottom edge of your iMac.
  • These screws will remain captive in the access door.
  • Remove the access door from your iMac.
  • During reassembly, fasten the access door loosely and align it with the pocket cut into the outer case of the iMac before fully tightening the screws.

Loosen the three Phillips screws securing the access door to the bottom edge of your iMac.

These screws will remain captive in the access door.

Remove the access door from your iMac.

During reassembly, fasten the access door loosely and align it with the pocket cut into the outer case of the iMac before fully tightening the screws.

1024

Step 2

              RAM
  • Use your fingers or the tip of a spudger to slide the black plastic RAM tray pull tab out of the RAM slot.

Use your fingers or the tip of a spudger to slide the black plastic RAM tray pull tab out of the RAM slot.

Step 3

  • Pull the black plastic tab away from the iMac to eject the RAM chip from its socket.
  • The RAM modules are firmly seated and may require a fair amount of force to remove.
  • Use your fingers to slide the RAM chip out of its socket.
  • If necessary, repeat this process for the other RAM module(s).

Pull the black plastic tab away from the iMac to eject the RAM chip from its socket.

The RAM modules are firmly seated and may require a fair amount of force to remove.

Use your fingers to slide the RAM chip out of its socket.

If necessary, repeat this process for the other RAM module(s).

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

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Author

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                    Andrew Bookholt

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spaceshipdev - Jul 20, 2011

Reply

Interestingly, the mid 2011 iMac 27 inch also goes to 12GB!

I originally thought I’d be upgrading to 8GB today but found 4 slots instead of 2 :-)

As long as the two front (close to the screen) slots are paired with the exact same RAM config.

For example:

Two front slots Apple 2GB chips = 4GB.

Two rear slots, Crucial Lexar 4GB chips = 8GB

Total 12GB

Hoorah no waste and more RAM, come on Lion… I’m Ready!

vince Greco - Dec 31, 2012

Reply

Need a#0 screwdriver, not #1

Magda Stremeski - Jan 26, 2014

Reply

Be sure to really push the RAM all the way into the socket. I had a “no RAM” error beep when I first booted up my iMac after doing this. Just an extra two millimetres was all it needed to be properly installed. It can be quite tough to get in.

peterschiemann - Feb 27, 2015

Reply

Hi,

I’ve got a 2309 and just received my two additional 4GB RAM Cards. Put them in and I can say that the speed improved (now with 16GB). Not dramatically, however, some applications did always show the little rainbow disc when my Mac was “thinking”. This is now gone.

I am on OS X 10.9.5 still and the whole Mac feels as if it can “breathe” more lightly with the additional RAM.

Thanks!

Brad Anderson - Aug 10, 2020

Reply

My 11,1 27” 2.66Ghz iMac happy eats up all the 4x8GB I put in there.